I actually think the the manufacturers had a point here. The story was totally sensationalized. The product could not be actually described as “slime.” The result of people not eating the stuff is also bad for the environment. This product actually meant that each head of cattle produced more hamburgers and it was safe. People didn’t start eating fewer hamburgers as a result of this, they just change hamburgers to require more cows. I’m a vegetarian because the impact of meat consumption on the environment is so negative. It takes way more fuel, land, and water to produce meat, especially beef, compared to vegetable fat and protein. I really don’t think killing “pink slime” was that much of a win.

Pink-slime= connective tissue/meat/etc that has been lightly cooked to remove some of the fattier bits

What would have been acceptable:
ABC could have run a documentary on how they were using connective tissue from cows to push up the “protein content” of ground beef and save on cost. Basically, corporations are selling you inferior products at a higher price.What happened:
Instead, ABC News ran a program where they basically made it sound like the meat companies were feeding people poison and that “pink slime” was a dangerous and deadly additive that would kill everyone. It was melodramatic fear-mongering and irresponsible. They earned their lawsuit fair and square.

Yeah, never mind the fact that this stuff came out of the food scare in the 70s when scientists worked hard to make all the even marginally nutritious parts of the animal into something that could be made palatable to the general public.

But hey, we have a long storied history of burning at the stake those who are trying to save the world.